Helah Kiprop Jelagat (born 7 April 1985) is a Kenyan professional

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

who competes in the

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...

and

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

. Her personal bests for the events are 1:07:39 minutes and 2:21:27 hours, respectively. She has won the

Berlin Half Marathon The Berlin Half Marathon is a major endurance event held annually in early spring in Berlin, Germany. Besides the runner's main race, the event includes a race for inline skaters, wheelchair athletes and handbikers. All athletes use the same co ...

, the

Egmond Half Marathon The Egmond Half Marathon ( nl, Egmond Halve Marathon) is an annual half marathon race over 21.1 kilometres that has been staged in Egmond aan Zee, Netherlands since 1973. The competition normally takes place in early January. Sections of the road ...

and the

Zwolle Half Marathon Zwolle Half Marathon is an annual half marathon road running event held in Zwolle, Netherlands, in June. The race was first held in 2001 and attracts both amateur and professional runners. Over 3000 people took part in the 2008 edition of the race. ...

. She was the 2014 winner of the

Seoul International Marathon The Seoul International Marathon, also known as the ''Dong-A Ilbo Seoul Marathon or Seoul Marathon'' is an annual marathon race that takes place in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of two annual races over the 42.195 km classic distance in the ...

and came fourth at the

2013 Berlin Marathon The 2013 Berlin Marathon was the 40th edition of the Berlin Marathon, held in Berlin, Germany. It took place on Sunday, 29 September. The race was sponsored by BMW, being officially titled the BMW Berlin Marathon. The men's race was won by Wilson ...

Career

Early career

Kiprop had her first win in a European road race in

Nogent-sur-Marne Nogent-sur-Marne () is a Communes of France, commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. Nogent-sur-Marne is a ''Subprefectures in France, sous-préfecture'' of the Val-de-Marne ''Depar ...

in 2005, running 32:55 minutes at the local 10K run. She began training with GS Valsugana Trentino, an athletics club in

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th centu ...

, Italy, and made a successful

debut in September 2005, taking third place at the high profile

Lille Half Marathon The Lille Métropole Half Marathon ( French: ''Semi-Marathon de Lille Métropole'') is an annual half marathon foot race which takes place in Lille, France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located i ...

with a time of 74:02 minutes. She ran for the club in track races in 2006 and 2007, but did not have the same levels of performance as she did on the roads.Helah Kiprop
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 22 March 2014. She won the Corrida di San Geminiano 15K race in 2007. She returned to Kenya in 2008 and at the end of the year won the

Tuskys Wareng Cross Country The Tuskys Wareng Cross Country is an annual cross country running competition that takes place in November near Eldoret in Kenya. The name is derived from the sponsor, Tuskys Supermarket, which is based in Wareng County. The event was inaugurated ...

. A series of road victories came in 2009. A personal best of 69:29 minutes to win at the Nice Half Marathon ranked her in the top forty for the event that year. She won at the Merano-Lugundo Half Marathon, the Cuneo Run and the 10K de la Provence in

Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

. She had a close battle with

Meseret Mengistu Meseret Mengistu Biru (born 6 March 1990) is an Ethiopian female long-distance runner who competes mainly in road running events. She holds a personal best of 2:23:26 hours for the marathon. She represented Ethiopia at the IAAF World Half Marat ...

at the

Marseille-Cassis Classique Internationale The Marseille-Cassis Classique Internationale is an annual half marathon which follows a course from Marseille to Cassis in France during the last weekend in October. It has the silver label of the IAAF Road Race Label Events and is thus among the ...

, but ended up in second place to her Ethiopian rival. Kiprop was mainly a runner-up in 2010, starting at the Alicante Half Marathon, then the Paderborner Osterlauf, Hambaurg Alsterlauf and

Singelloop Utrecht The Singelloop Utrecht is an annual road running event over which takes place on the streets of city of Utrecht in the Netherlands. It is typically held in either September or October The competition, which roughly translates as the ''Utrecht Can ...

. She won the Poznan Half Marathon and the Sotokoto Safari Half Marathon, as well as setting a personal best 32:20 minutes to win a 10K in

Oelde Oelde () is a town in the district of Warendorf, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near Beckum. Geography Division of the town Oelde consists of 5 districts: * Oelde * Stromberg * Lette * Sünninghausen * Kirchspiel (with farmi ...

. She did not compete in 2011. She reached new heights in 2012 and was runner-up at the

in a time of 68:26 minutes, just one second behind

Philes Ongori Philes Moora Ongori (born 19 July 1986 in Chironge, Kiamokama, in Kisii District) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in half marathon and marathon events. Her early career was based in Japan and she won a number of All-Japan Corpor ...

. A win at the World Bangalore 10K followed a month after. In June she won the Zwitserloot Dak Run in a best of 31:44 minutes and was the victor at the

. She travelled to South America for the first time and came third at the

Bogotá Half Marathon The Bogotá International Half Marathon ( es, Media Maratón Internacional de Bogotá), or mmB as it is traditionally known, is an annual road running competition over a half marathon distance () taking place in Bogotá, Colombia in late July ...

. A close third at the

Delhi Half Marathon Airtel Delhi Half Marathon (ADHM) is an annual half marathon foot-race held in New Delhi, India. Established in 2005, it is both an elite runner and mass participation event. It is an AIMS-certified course and is listed as a Gold Label Road Rac ...

in November was her last big road race that year.

Marathon running

The 2013 season marked a career breakthrough for Kiprop as she achieved new personal bests and ran in her first major

race. She began the year with a win at the

. The

RAK Half Marathon Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon is an annual half marathon held in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. History The first event, in 2007, saw Samuel Wanjiru breaking the world record, but Wanjiru himself set a new world record only a month later in ...

proved to be a very fast race, with four women under 67 minutes – Kiprop's personal best time of 67:39 minutes for sixth place was the fastest ever recorded for such a low position. She set out to win at the Berlin Half Marathon, taking an early lead, and was first to finish in 67:54 minutes, reversing her placings with Ongori from the previous year. Her fast performances earned her an invite to the

and on her debut run she recorded a time of 2:28:02 hours for the distance, ending in fourth place in the top level competition. Her last outing that year was at the first ever Kochi Half Marathon, which she won. Kiprop was among the leaders at the 2014 RAK Half Marathon, but fell behind the eventual winner

Priscah Jeptoo Priscah Jeptoo (born 26 June 1984) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon. She has won marathons in New York, Paris, Turin, and London and has a best time of 2:20:14 for the distance. She was the runner-up i ...

and finished fourth in 68:36 minutes. At the 2014

, Kiprop topped the podium in the classic distance for the first time. Her run of 2:27:29 hours was a personal best and enough to fend off Ashu Kasim in the final kilometres of the race. She was coached by her husband, Ugandan David Marus. In 2017 Kiprop competed in the

at the 2017 World Championships held in London, placing 7th in 2:28:19.

Achievements

References

External links

*
Profile
at Volare Sports {{DEFAULTSORT:Kiprop, Helah Living people 1985 births Kenyan female long-distance runners Kenyan female marathon runners World Athletics Championships athletes for Kenya World Athletics Championships medalists Tokyo Marathon female winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Kenya People from Nyeri County Sportspeople from Central Province (Kenya)